I had a great afternoon at the Souls 4 Souls Shoe Drive hosted by Julianne.(Miss Teenage Burnaby 2015) “300 Million children across the world don’t have a pair of shoes.That statistic really blows me away, especially knowing that when I open my closet, I have dozen of shoes for all different occasions at my disposal.” -Julianne Nieh

I was surprised at all the shoes that were donated in one afternoon! Thanks to the efforts of everyone that came,we have collected 349 pairs of shoes.

I had a great time there with my pageant sisters! Tina(Miss Teenage BC 2018), Karina(Miss Teenage Lower Mainland) and Julianne(Miss Teenage Burnaby 2015)

All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my afternoon, helping out in a shoe donation. This shows that we care for this world and want to make everyone have a better life.

I had a wonderful time being a judge for the talent show at Edmond City Fair today! Being a judge is hard and fun at the same time. Fun because I have the ability to judge the contestants and hard because everyone is just so talented. A big shoutout to Edmonds city fair for having me as a judge for the talent show. I really appreciate it. I was also so fortunate again today to meet Mayor Derek Corrigan,Councillor Paul McDonnell and Councillor James Wang again.

Photo with Kennedy Stewart(Member of Parliament). A few years ago during the Prime Minister Elections, he came to Chaffey Burke Elementary School to tell us more about the NDP’s political ideas. I was glad to see him again today.

This Sunday I did fundraising for WE Charity at my church. I sold Donuts and Bookmarks. During my fundraising I was deeply moved by some generous people.

There was an old man who came to my stand and told me that he didn’t want anything as he is too old to read and eat sweet donuts. He asked me to explain who I was fundraising for and why. I answered that I was fundraising for WE Charity and all the money that I fund raise will go help the children get a better education and not have to start working at early ages. He gave me a $10 donation for a good cause.

There was a very generous lady. At first she donated $20 just for the cause of WE Charity because I explained to her why I was fundraising for them. She then gave me $20 dollars for two bookmarks. Since her payment was enough for 4 of the bookmarks, we tried to give her four. Then she put down another $20 and insisted her great support to me. That’s what I call a Generous and Caring heart.

When I was close to the end of my fundraising activity, I had a few donuts left and I saw some children still standing by my table, I decided to give them out for free to show my deep appreciation to my fellow parishioners.

I would like to thank all the parishioners of Saint Francis de Sales for the strong support towards me and my fundraising efforts for WE Charity.

This Tuesday on May 22nd 2018, I visited Chaffey-Burke Elementary school where I graduated from in 2016. I went back to my elementary school not only because I want to promote my title as Miss Teenage Burnaby and the Miss Teenage Canada pageant, but also encourage children to follow their dream and be the best person that they can be.

I spent the whole afternoon in various classes reading to the primary kids, answered all their question they had. Their favorite question is “Are you a princess?”. I inspired all the young girls to fulfill their dream of being a princess because my dream became true. I also promoted my platform for the acceptance of autistic children in the school.

Thanks to the principal Mr. Bortolussi and all the teachers participated for giving me this great opportunity!

Every girl dreams of being a princess. For me, that childhood dream came true. On March 4th I was crowned as the new Miss Teenage Burnaby. That same night after I got crowned, I literally wanted to sleep with my crown on as I was afraid that the crown would simply disappear when I woke up in the morning and the pageant would be nothing but a dream.

I would like to thank Ariel Cao and her family introducing me to this pageant and supporting me all the way through. I am very grateful for all the time and efforts from Ariel, teaching me how to walk in high heels, answering my questions and always believing in me. Angeline from Bells and Bows Bridal helped to have my evening gown delivered just in time. I truly felt like a princess in that stunning dress. Of course, I appreciate my parents for being my rocks and believing that I could do anything if I put my mind to it. With so many great loves and supports surrounding me, I believe I will rock the stage on Toronto.

After the provincial pageant, I have experienced a huge improvement in my public speaking skills. I used to be a shy and timid girl who couldn’t go three sentences in front of audience without stuttering. Now, I am a confident individual who recently got selected as a representative for my class for STMC’s very own Speech Knight. I successfully made into Top 5 for the entire Grade 9’s. It was really a great honor to be selected for this special event. About the fundraising for WE charity, I asked for help of my friends and sold donuts in the school during lunch hours. Whenever I am doing things for others who really need help in this world, I feel more responsible and powerful.

I am looking forward to Nationals in Toronto because I’m excited to meet all the delegates from all around Canada. I can’t wait to make many more new friends through this experience and come away from this pageant with unforgettable memories. I will definitely continue to promote my platform more during my reign as Miss Teenage Burnaby 2018. Stay tuned as I continue on my journey towards Toronto!

Hello everyone! It is currently day 5 at the Miss Teenage Canada and I am loving it! And do not worry, I will be writing a blog post about all the various activities that we have been up to! However, this blog post will be short and sweet about our delicious lunch at the Toronto Eaton Centre.

All 82 delegates lined up two by two and entered the mall, and we were quite a sight! We headed straight to the Richtree Natural Market Restaurants where there was an array of food options that are all natural and healthy. They have four locations all across Toronto, at the Eaton Centre, College Park, Bayview/York Mills Centre and Square One Missisauga.

Eating my burrito!!

All the delegates were sponsored with a meal at the new Taco Truck!! I was extremely excited to see that there was a simple yet refined menu. I ordered the Hearts of Palm Veggie Burrito and it was delicious!! I loved the fermented taste of the vegetables and the combination of all the flavors were amazing 🙂 Not only that, but the staff were extremely friendly and organized despite having to feed 82 hungry girls in such a short amount of time!

Such a nice truck!

This truck really proved that you don’t only have to eat tacos on Tuesday, but any day of the week! I urge you all to follow Richtree on their social media accounts listed below :

Website: http://www.richtreenaturalmarket.com

Facebook: /RichtreeMarket

Twitter: @RichtreeMarket

Instagram: RichtreeMarket

I am super excited for preliminaries tomorrow night and I am ready to rock it!! Thank you all for your support and I will blog very soon 🙂

Hello everyone! I JUST ARRIVED IN TORONTO!!! I am so excited 🙂 It is currently 8 am here, or 5 am in BC so I am writing this on 5 hours of sleep :p. This is my second blog assignment where I will discuss my platform of choice, why I chose it, what it means to me and how I would spread my message if I were to become the next Miss Teenage Canada 2015 (Just thinking about the possibility of winning gives me the chills :D). However, to make this blog post a bit more interactive and valuable, I will be leading all of you through a few steps to help you discover your own platform and mission in life! So read on if you want to find how you can make a difference in the world.

Some of you may know, but my platform that I created during the provincial competition is called “Lead from Within”. Essentially, my goal is to empower youth and especially young girls to help them develop confidence in themselves so that they can strive to be the best that they can be. I want to be able to show them how they can develop their passions and interests in life to make a difference in the world and be leaders in various ways. I chose this platform for several reasons. First of all, I think that self-confidence is an issue that most people struggle with, no matter how young or old you are. Our environment, the people we are with and our own thoughts can provoke feelings of inadequacy or personal failure. We are constantly pressured by our performance in school and in extra-curricular activities. When we do not do as well as we hope to do in certain aspects of our lives, or if we are bullied by others, this can cause our self-esteem to crumble. This is a serious issue that can develop into depression or other mental illnesses. This is a problem that is not brought up enough in our education systems and in our daily lives. Many individuals go through their lives without knowing how to handle such situations. This is something I want to change.

Therefore, I decided to create my platform to volunteer with programs that encourage and teach the importance of self-esteem, friendships and long-term values. These are valuable skills that can strengthen an individual who is going through the hardships of life. One of the organizations that I started volunteering with is called SOLE GIRLS. This is a tween empowerment program for girls aged 8-12 and was created by a woman named Ashley Wiles. She is a great inspiration to me and has taught me many things about helping others become stronger and better people. This 9-week program educates the young girls about values, respect, goals, friendships, community, volunteerism and much more! All this is incorporated into physical activity and we run a 5 km at the end of the 9 weeks. This program has taught me so many things that I had not learned in the past. I got to listen to these young girls speak about bullying experiences and other negative aspects of their lives. It really allowed me to understand what many children and teens are going through on a daily basis. I understood that I had to do something to help even more youth with the problem of self-confidence.

This means a lot to me because I have also had times when I felt powerless and self-conscious. There was a point in my life where I couldn’t see a beautiful person standing in front of the mirror. I wasn’t confident with my appearance or my actions. Not many people know this because I didn’t show it outwardly. Fortunately, I am the type of person who proactively tries to find solutions to my problems. I sought out to read many inspirational and self-help books that significantly increased my level of confidence and self-love. Today, I am able to look in the mirror and see an empowered young woman who is beautiful in her own way. I want EVERY person to feel the same way.

I am planning to start my very own youth empowerment program in the fall. I am teaming up with the CYLA, also known as the Canadians for Youth Leadership and Action. I am fortunate enough to be a director with this non-profit organization. What we do is we provide financial and intellectual aid to groups or individuals who have a great idea that can improve the lives of others. We are a support group for inspired people. I was inspired to create a youth empowerment program where we can talk about subjects that bother us and what we can do to improve the situation. I also want to introduce others to the concept of positive affirmations and having a strong mental attitude. With these lessons, it can be so much easier to cope with things that happen in our lives.

If I were to become Miss Teenage Canada 2015, I would love to spread my message to youth all over Canada. As our country’s youth ambassador, I think that my platform is a cause worth sharing. I would like to start off with my own city of Burnaby and create an empowerment program, speak with various high schools and elementary schools about the importance of self-love and confidence. Something amazing would be to speak at We Day about following one’s passion with confidence and courage. Most importantly, I want my actions to inspire youth from all over. Being a proactive and encouraging role model would be my main goal as Miss Teenage Canada 2015. So many people learn and absorb information from actions and that’s what I want to do.

So in a nutshell, my platform is to help other youth develop a stronger sense of self-confidence and empowerment so that they can feel capable of making a difference, no matter how big or small!

So how can you choose a platform and take action to implement your values to make the world a better place? Well once place that I recommend you go to is leadandact.org . This is the official website of the CYLA and there are steps to creating your own campaign relating to your passion. There are three simple steps

1. SPARK- Inspire Yourself

Think of an issue that you observed in your community. What are many people struggling with? Is there an issue that you have a personal connection with?

Sometimes, you don’t have to think of an issue, but just something that makes you feel empowered; something that you want to share with others.

2. LEAD- Take initiative

Think of different ways that you can implement a program, conference or campaign to raise awareness for your cause. Get creative!

Its really important to gather a team who share the same values as you do. Find people who are willing to take time out of their busy schedules to help you in your initiative

3. ACT- Take on a cause

After you figure out what you want to do, think up a timeline and ACT! This is the most important part as you can get all your ideas and make them into a reality 🙂

If you take these steps and implement them into something you are really passionate about, you have the potential to do something truly incredible.

I want to remind all of you how amazing you are and that you are capable of anything. Remember to always keep an open and grateful mind. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to 🙂

I hope that you have learned a bit about myself and my platform. It really means a lot to me and if you have any questions, let me know in the comments!

Hi! I'm Carol, Miss Teenage Burnaby 2018!

Carol is a courageous, determined and hard-working individual with strong leadership skills, who made distinction honours in 2017. She also has the ability to work under pressure and pick up the slack that none of her group members are willing to do. She is a competitive swimmer in BMM and won 8th in 100m butterfly during the Simon Fraser regionals and achieved 15+ personal best times in the summer of 2017. She is a history enthusiast especially in the culture of Ancient China. She can recite the Ballad of Mulan fluently in Chinese.